TRAINSPOTTING star Carlyle admits he's now ready to direct The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson after 20 years of acting.

HOLLYWOOD star Robert Carlyle is set to make his debut as a director with a film about a Glasgow killer.

The Scottish actor insists the time is finally right, after more than 20 years in front of the camera, to make his own movie.

Now a comic crime tale set in his home town has fired his imagination.

Robert said: “I loved cinema while growing up and, for the longest time, wanted to be a director.

“I am trying to adapt a book called The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson for a movie that I hope to direct next year. And I say ‘hope’ with my fingers crossed.

“It’s a quirky, interesting, dark comedy about a barber who accidentally kills two or three people.

“The reason I took so long to think about direction is that I respect the business too much. Direction is a very, very tough job and takes an awful lot of your time and brain cells.

“So if you don’t find something that talks to you, it’s never a good idea.”

The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson was published in 1999 and is the first of seven novels about a misfit Glasgow barber. Just like Trainspotting – the Irvine Welsh novel which became a hit film starring Robert – much of it is written in Scots dialect.

Author Douglas Lindsay was born in Lanarkshire and studied in Glasgow before moving to England.

The ex-MoD worker has tried unsuccessfully to get his work on the big screen before. He claims the title role was rejected by Ewan McGregor, Robbie Coltrane and Billy Connolly.

Douglas said: “I believe the intention is, that as well as directing, Robert will play Barney, which is great.”

After a spell living in the US, Carlyle, 51, returned home to Glasgow 10 years ago and vowed never to move away again.

His latest movie, California Solo, in which he plays a faded rock star, was released last week.